Same ol' story

There’s not much to say that hasn’t already been said. Sunday’s 4-1 loss to the White Sox was like watching a summer rerun. Good Reds pitching was trumped by no Reds hitting as Mark Buehrle dispatched them with seven scoreless innings. Aaron Harang has three quality starts and a rain shortened start this month and no wins.

Dusty Baker was a bit edgy after the game and wore the look of disdain. Here is a sampling of his postgame comments:

“That’s been a repetitive story. We’re trying to find a way to get some hits when they count and drive in some runs. Aaron pitched well enough to win today. I’ve gone over this many times. We have to produce some runs.”

“Here we are in late June and we’re still doing the same things we did in April and May. It seems like we’re not learning anything. I’m frustrated big time. The guys are frustrated too.”“They blooped some balls in there early. Still, we have to score.”

“We’vre had chances. We’ve had opportunities. We have to get somebody to drive in some runs. Brandon [Phillips] has been pretty good but other guys – we give them a theory and philosophy on how to drive in runs.

There is a way. It’s frustrating to look up there and see a lot of zeroes or a one or a two. Last night, we scored but couldn’t stop them from scoring.”

That’s a 3-3 homestand that was winnable. The big loss was Saturday when the Reds blew a 5-0 lead and still lost as the White Sox made four errors. That hurt…a lot. Their record is back to .500 at 34-34 and four games out of first place. It’s not a bad place to be but they really need a certain someone to return to the lineup, meaning…

The Joey Votto watch will be on this week. Votto was 1-for-3 with a lined RBI single to center field and a run scored in his second game with Class-A Dayton. Nothing has been announced, but I envision Votto making his next stop at Double-A Carolina, which is home all of this week.

Share this:

Like this:

Related

10 Comments

Other than Bruce perhaps coming out of his season-long slump, I don’t envision the offense getting any better RBI-wise. Not until Votto comes back, and hopefully Edwin comes back strong. That being said, I DO envision Walt Jockity making some calls. It’s that time of the year to start thinking about making some moves some time or another. The pitching is there, just like it’s been all year long. It’d be a shame if we fell back in the race just because we can’t even score a lousy 4-5 runs per game. Seriously… we need to get some big bats in there…

I know this will not happen, but why not Todd Frazier at 3B for the next two weeks until EE is back? The Sox have Beckham at 3B. It certainly would not hurt Frazier to face Major League pitching for a few weeks. I cannot see him hitting any worse than Rosales or Hairston. Frazier may be weak defensively but Rosales has really struggled at third.

It is the same old story and a story that is done just like the Reds are this year. I am as optimistic as the next guy but let’s face it, as far as winning a division goes, it’s over. Look at the Cardinals almost scoring at will now. The Brewers’ heavy hitters can take on anybody. And now, the Cubs have found their lost offense. Yes the pitching has been the best it has been in years but what difference does that make when the opposition goes up 2-0 and you already feel like the team is in an insurmountable hole? Repeatedly time and again this team will have a runner at third with less than 2 outs (sometimes no outs) and fails to bring the runner in. At least three times Sat. night before I turned the game off. Furthermore, Joey Votto is a great guy but who is to say his anxiety problems won’t continue. There are no guarantees with something like that. The Reds better start looking for outside help NOW!

“I am as optimistic as the next guy but let’s face it, as far as winning a division goes, it’s over. ”
Dude, we’re 4 games back. We’ve played mediocre for most of the year and we’ve played injured pretty much the entire year as well. There are 96 games left. It’s not over…

“Here we are in late June and we’re still doing the same things we did in April and May. It seems like we’re not learning anything. I’m frustrated big time. The guys are frustrated too.”

Was Dusty looking in a mirror when he said that? Because he certainly hasn’t learned a thing. Playing Taveras nearly everyday? Playing Rosales all the time? Forgetting Paul Janish even exists? And to think that Hanigan is going back to the bench this week when he is clearly in the running for ROY and is the better catcher.

Their hitting problems have been their continual downfall. Before the season started those of us with a clue knew full ell there would be little offense coming from this group. Part of their problems are selfishness. Guys like Jerry Hairston Jr. refuse to take a walk. If the count gets to 3-1 on him he’s already made up his mind to swing at the next pitch. And if it happens to be about ankle high you can bet he’ll be wailing. Everybody, including myself used to get all over Adam Dunn because he refused to shorten his swing with 2 strikes. But heck, everyone on this team is exactly the same way. If you have a guy on 3rd base with less than 2 outs and you go up there looking to hit a home run you’re just being selfish. You’re not a team player. And Joey Votto shouldn’t be on any kind of rehab assignment at all. The guy wasn’t injured he was dealing with some personal problems. He took BP with his teammates almost every day. Get him on a @#$%^ plane to Toronto.

The Reds sort of remind me of “my” Twins over in the AL Central. They do enough things well to win some games, but they also screw up enough (whether it being the bats going silent or the bullpen blowing a lead) to never get the record too far above .500 (if at all).http://zkonedog.mlblogs.com/

Archives

Meta

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.